Imagine you are at a store to shop for groceries. But this isn’t your everyday supermarket — this place is called Microtransactions, and they specialize in selling partial products at lower costs.
For example, a normal store sells a gallon of milk for $3, but here you can only buy half a gallon for $2. Don’t fret though, Microtransactions can sell you that full gallon for an extra $1. The only caveat is that you have to wait until you get home, enter your credit card information into their online store, and buy the other half there.
Sound confusing? Microtransactions offers plenty of milk upgrade options to those looking for a more complete experience. Want that milk to be chocolate flavored? $1 please. Tired of your dairy being warm? That will be 50 cents extra for cold milk. Hey, maybe you want that expiration date to extend a week. There's an option for that, but it’ll cost you $3 extra.
I know you're thinking, “Who in their right mind would shop at Microtransactions?"
Turns out, bundles of people are willing to shop within that business model. Millions of gamers fall prey to the shady practice of purchasing their entertainment piecemeal. It’s a practice almost exclusive to the gaming industry and has irked its core audience for years now.
Every week seems to bring with it a new game littered with microtransactions that gamers almost have to buy if they want a complete experience.
Developers build entire marketplaces with made up in-game currencies that allow players to save their winnings from the game and spend it on new characters, costumes and ways to jump ahead of your competition.
Using in-game currencies earned by actually playing the game may not seem nefarious, but developers artificially inflate the prices of the microtransactions so that anyone looking to go that route would have to spend dozens of hours to accumulate that kind of savings account.
Luckily, gamers can convert their real-life money into in-game money with the press of a button. Troves of players do this every day, while developers reap the benefits.
Ever heard of “Clash of Clans?” Television ads for this “free-to-play” mobile game have sprung up everywhere.
Maybe you’ve seen the scantily clad supermodel Kate Upton riding on her trusty steed as soldiers die in battle around her? That ad is for a game called “Game of War” and was even played during the Superbowl several times in 2015.
These high-profile commercials cost millions of dollars, meaning the profit these microtransaction-infected mobile games are making is incalculable.
Naturally, corporate publishing companies like Electronic Arts and Activision are now pushing the studios they fund to implement microtransactions.
These companies hire heavy-hitting marketing firms to target mostly young gamers. The hope is that these naive children will come running to mommy for her credit card the second his or her game starts asking for money to continue playing. It’s heinous manipulation, but it works — and that’s why it isn’t going away.
The perpetual sales pitch these video game companies have gamers trapped in is abominable. The virus is now spreading to revered franchises like "Forza Motorsport" and "Call of Duty" — even games meant for mature audiences are afflicted with microtransactions.
If action isn’t taken soon, publishing companies will soon require practically every game developer to implement a “free-to-play” model and completely alienate the entire hardcore community. People are being robbed of their hard earned money in exchange for instant gratification and incomplete products.
Just remember, if buying milk with microtransactions comes off as crooked and questionable, why should gamers be subjected to that same dubious business model?
We shouldn’t. But month after month, we play right into the ignominious wallet-fishing hands of corporate giants. It’s a terrible cycle that needs to stop, and only gamers themselves can halt its progress.
Reach the reporter at nlatona@asu.edu or follow @Bigtonemeaty on Twitter.
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